Twisting machine



Sept. 17, 1929. W W COLLJNS 1,728,663

TWISTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNEYS,

Sept. l 7, l 929.

w. w. CQLLINS TwIsTING MACHINE Filed Feb 5' 1928 5 sheets sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

Sept 17, 1929- W. w. COLLINS 1,728,663

TWISTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 3, 1928 5 Sheets-Shea?l 5 TTORNEYS.

Patentedsept. 17, 192'9 PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM W. COLLINS, F NORTH SEEKONK, MASSACEUSETTS TWISTING MACHINE Application filed February 3, 1928. Serial No. 251,671.

This invention relates to an improved machine for and method of twisting yarns; and

has for its object to providea machineofthis character having a rotatable yarn twister head designed to carry a yarn supply packagevand a yarn twist holder or twisting member through which the yarn is led from the package, the head being mounted to be rapidly rotated and a pair of feed rolls being provided and spaced from the twist holder .through which the yarn is led from the twister and means also being provided for taking up or packaging the twisted yarn as fedby the feed rolls. i

A further object of the invention is the provision of a guide tube carrying a yarn package at its upper end and a yarn engaging member at its lower end, the yarn being led from the package through the tube and through the engaging member toa pair of yarn twist holding feed rolls which 4 are spaced from the yarn engaging member,

means being also provided for winding thetwisted yarn intopackage form as led from the feed rolls.

The invention further consists in the provision of a traverse motion for controlling the lay of the yarn as wound upon the packave.

bThe invention still further consists in the provision of a stop motion for arresting the action of the yarn feeding mechanism when the yarn breaks; also the provision of means for catching the loose end of the yarn, and breaking the yarn if it should be released from its guide and start to, balloon at the lower end of the'twister head, ybeing also engaged to prevent it from unthreading from the twister head and from doubling with yarn of the next adjacent twister head;

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, 'as will be more fully descrbied, and particularly` pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved twisting machine.

Figure 2 is a detail showing the slide rod of` the yarn guiding traverse motion. 1

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the machine as illustrated in Figure 1 partly in section.

Figure 4 is a detail illustrating the spring center member for releasably holding the package of twisted yarn while being wound.

Figure 5 is a skeleton or diagrammatic view showing the members directly employed for supplying, feeding, twisting and packaging the yarn.

Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of the twister head.

Figure 7 is a side elevation partly in section showing a stop motion mechanism as applied to my improved twisting machine.

Figure 8 is aperspective view showing a detail of the yarn feeler member engaging the travelling yarn. s

Figure 9 shows the yarn feeler ngers in section between which the yarn runs and which also serves as a slub catcher.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the fe'edtwister showing the teeth for engaging and breaking the yarn to prevent it from ballooning and then unthreading through the twister head and to prevent it from'flying into engagement with the yarn in the next twister head to cause doubling of the ply.

It is found in practice that my improved method of twisting has` many advantages over the old methods of ringtwisting, cap twisting and iyer twisting for a number .of reasons, among others being that the twisting speed may be increased from to 100% over that of any of the above mentioned methods of twisting, this high rate of speed being obtained, among o ther reasons, by the elimination of friction on the yarn caused by drawing it'through a traveler and drawing the traveler about the ring asin ring twisting. Then again the yarn by my improved method is also much stronger than when twisted by any ofthe old methods because it is subjected to less disintegrating strain and wear during the twisting `operation; therefore it naturally follows that the stronger the yarn the faster it can be run without breaking down. i Another great advantage of my improved method of twistingis that the distance between thegtwisting points remains constant thereby providing a more even twist which is not Ithe case with ring twisting. Then again the twisted yarn may be wound direct as fed from the feed rolls into package form and thus eliminate the intermediate winding operation usually employed. I have also provided simple and effective means for engag ing and severing the yarn if for any cause itis released from the twister members below the twister head to balloon out of its proper path of travel, thus preventing slack twist and doubling.

I have also provided a simple and effective stop motion for arresting the yarn feed mechanism when theyarn breaks; and the following is a detailed description of the present embodiment of my invention and showing one arrangement of mechanism by which these advantageous results may be accomplished:

With reference to the drawings 10 designates the end frameswhich, of course, may be placed any desired distance apart or arranged to support any desired numberof spaced twister heads and their operating mechanism one complete unit only being herein shown. Each end frame is herein shown as being provided with an upwardly and forwardly extending arm 11 supporting a crossbar 12 in which the twister head 13 is rotatably mounted.

lThis twister head comprises a sleeve 14, see Fig. 6, having a collar 15 below the bearing rail 12 with a nut 16 threaded on to the upper end tobind against the upper face of this rail. Within this sleeve is mounted a brass bushing'17 and inside of this brass bushing I mount'an anti-friction bushing 18 both be. ing secured against rotation to the sleeve 14. Extending upwardly through this antifriction bearing 1s a yarn guide tube 19 on the upper portion o which is mounted a metal package-supporting cone which is fixed to this tube by a binding screw 21 and an anti-friction ball bearing is mounted in the bottom recess 23 of this cone to carry the weight of the tube and the. parts secured thereto.

To the lower end of this guide tube is secured a whirl 24 and on the lower end of this whirl I have herein shown as being mounted a pair of yarn nipping twist rolls 25 which are preferably corrugated to loosely mesh with each other and these rolls are mounted on their respective pivot pins 26 to rotate freely thereon to nip the yarn and set the twist' therein as the head is rapidly rotated and the yarn is drawn therethrough between these rolls, but any other desired means may be employed on this head for holding this` twist.'

. I have provided a pair of feed nip rolls which are spaced 4from' .the twist holder the required distance which perform a ldouble function; first, they cooperate with the twist shaped tripper head 57 in rolls to hold the yarn as the twist is set therein; and second, they serve to feed the twisted `yarn at such a speed relative to that of the twister head as to accurately determine the amount of-twist, per inch, which shall be set intothe yarn. The bottom roll 27 of this pair of feed rolls has its bearing in the end frames and is driven in the manner presently described while the upper roll 28 of these feed rolls is mounted in the arms 29 which are pivoted at 30 in the frame and rests by its own weight upon the lower roll 27. The yarn guiding surface of one of these feed -rolls is rotated by friotional'contact therewith. This package may bein any desired form, that herein shown being provided with a tubular core 31 mounted on a shaft 32 with its ends supported in the arms 33, which arms are mounted on the cross shaft 34, whereby the arms may be swung to lift the package from contact with its drive roll 29 when desired.

One end of the spindle package is shown as supported by a spring pressed center 35, in Figure 4, whereby the package may be readily removed and positioned as desired.

In order to lay this yarn 36 upon this package in the desired manner, I have provided a traverse motion which includes a yarn guide 37 mounted upon the sliding bar 38 which bar is moved back and forth at the desired speed by means of the cam 39 which receives its motion from the feed roll 27 through the train of gears 40, 41 and 42.

My improved machine may be driven from any source of power but I have herein shown the driving power as being supplied in the electric motor 72, and the whirl 24 is shown as being driven from the main shaft 43, from the pulley 44 through the idlers 45 by the belt 46 and the feed rolls 27 and 28 are driven from this main shaft 43 through the gears 47, 48, 49 and 50, while the take up package drivino roll 29 is driven from and in time '.with 'the feed rolly 27 through gears 51, 52

and 53.

p In some instances, it is found advisable to provide a stop motion for this yarn driving mechanism, one form of which is herein shown which is operated by a feeler member 54 which is provided with a pair of closely spaced extended fingers 55 between which the yarn is drawn. This feeler member is pivotally mounted on the pin 56 and has a U which isa beard al'ly mounted at 60 near its upper end and is provided with a .friction shoe 61 to engage thewhirl 24.

This lever 59 is provided with a finger 62 which engages and is balanced on the pin 58 on the tripper head 57 and this lever then extends forwardly to the front of the machine f and is provided with an operating handle 63.

A notched quadrant 64 is connected to one `of the package supporting holding arms 33 and a pin 65 is mounted in an arm 66 connected to the lever 59 whereby as the diam- -eter of the package 30 increases the pin 65 is lifted to successively engage the different notches in thequadrant so that when the thread breaks and the feeler 54 drops the fingers 62 are released permitting the operating lever 59 to drop which serves to first apply the brake 61 to the whirl to .arrest rotation of the spindle; second, it lifts the package 30 from contact with its drive roll 29 and arrests its winding action; and third, the screw 67`on the arm 59 engages the rearwardly extending portion 68 on the nip roll arm 59 lifting the feed roll 58 from con-4 tact with its drive roll 57, thus arresting their feeding action. In this way, all of the yarn driving mechanism is arrested when the yarn breaks. In some instances I also provide a yarn engaging member 69 which isy provided with a loop portion 70 bound against the underside of the frame arm 11 and is provided with a toothed portion 71 which exsy tends down into position to engage the yarn,

if for any reason it should become disengaged from the herein shown corrugated ltwist rolls 25 and start a ballooning action in which case the yarn would engage these teeth 71 and be severed to prevent such detrimental ,action and so prevent loose twist land doubling of the yarn by stopping the machine.

It is found in practice that the required twisting tension on the yarn is obtained by the ballooning of the yarn as it'feeds from the supply package int-o the upper end of the guide tube 19.

My improved method of twisting yarn is extremely simple and practical and effective in its operation and by its use. the speed of the twisting operation may be greatly increased and astronger and better quality of yarn produced.l

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but

I desire it to be' understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A method of twisting yarn `which lconsists in supporting a' yarn package, leading `the yarn through the center of the package, establishing twistholders for the yarn at the' holder end of the package and rotating y thel package and holder in unison, causing and permitting the yarn to balloon upon leaving the package to exert the required tension on the yarn while being twisted, establishing another twist holder a fixed distance from the first ,mentioned twist holder in which distance the. twist in the yarn ,is laid, causing said second twist holder to also advance the yarn and at` a speed in timed relation to that ofthe rotaton of the first twist holder, and packaging the twisted yarn. l

3. In a twisting machine, a fixed frame, a rotatable twister head comprising a yarn package holder at one end and a twist holder at its opposite end, all rotated. on a common axis, twist4 holding feed rolls journaledl in a fixed frameand lspaced a fixed twisting distance from the twist holder to hold the twist and feed the yarn as led through the package .and the twist holder, means for driving the twist holding feed rolls, and meansk for driving the twister head at a speed in timed relation to that of the feed rolls.

4. In a twisting machine as claimed in` claim 3, the provision of means whereby the ballooning of the yarn under the action Vof centrifugal force set up by the rotation of the twister head is utilized to produce a tension on the yarn during the twisting operation. i v

5. A twisting machine as claimed in claim 3 in which the twist holdercomprises a pair ofyarn nipping twist rolls free to rotate on .their axes as the yarn is drawn therethrough.

,distance from the spindle carried twist holder for holding the twist and feeding the yarn as led through the package, said guide spindle and guide spindle twist holder, means for driving ,said tw'ster head and'sad feed rolls in timed relation, and y means'T for packaging the arn as fed.

s 7. In a twisting mac ine, a rotatable twister head comprisin g a hollow yarn guidey spindle carrying a yarn package at its upper end and a twistholder at its lower end all rotatable on va common vertical axis, a pair of twist holding feed rolls spaced a fixed distance from the .spindle carried twist holder for holding the twist and feeding the yarn as led from the package through said spindle and spindle twist holder, means for driving said twister head and said feed rolls in timed relation, means for packaging the yarn as fed, and means for arresting the p. yarn feeding mechanismV when the yarn breaks.

8. In a twisting machine, a rotatable twister head comprising a yarn guide tube carrying a yarn package at its yarn entering end and a pair of twist holding nip rolls at itsV yarn discharge end, means for rapidly rotating said head to cause the yarn to balloon and twist, a pair of twist'holding feed rolls spaced from the said nip rolls,

p. the ballooning yarn being led from the outing the twist and feeding the yarn as led from the package through said guide tube and said corrugated rolls, and means for driving the twisting head at a speed in vtimed relation to that of the feed rolls.

l0. In a twisting machine, a rotatable twister head comprising a tubular spindlef having a yarn package holder at one end and and a twist holder at its opposite end all rotated about 'a common axis, a fixed frame, combined twist holding and feeding means operatively mounted in said frame and spaced a .fixed distanceV from the 'twist holder in the head to hold the twist and feed the yarn as led through the package, the tubular Vspindle and, twist `holder, -and means for driving said twister head at a speed in timed relation to that of the feeding means.'

. 11. In a twisting machine, a rotatable twister head comprising a Vyarn guide tube carrying a yarn package holder at one end and a twist holder at the opposite end all rotatable about a common axis, a fixed frame,

combined `twist holding and feeding means 'means in timed relation.

operatively mounted. in said framel and spaced a fixed distance from the twist holder in the head for holding the twist and feeding the yarn as led vthrough the package, said guidetube and twist holder, and means for driving said twister head and said feeding 12. In a twisting machine,l arotatable ,ported yarn and one' twist twister head comprising a tubular spindle i having a yarn package holder at one end and a twist holder at its opposite end all rotated about a common axis, a fixed frame, combined twist holding and feeding means operatively mounted in said frame and spaced a fixed distance from the twist holder in the head to hold the twist and feed the yarn as led from the package through the tubular spindle and twist holder, means for driving said twister head at a speed relative to that of the feeding means, and means forarresting the yarn feeding mechanism when the yarn breaks.

13. Amethod of twisting yarn, which consists in supportingall of the yarn to be twisted on a rotatable axis, leading the yarn to be twisted through the center of all of the yarn to be twisted, establishing twist holders for the yarn at fixed distances, rotating the supholder in unison relative to the other twist holder, feeding the yarn through the said other twist holder not rotated in unison with the supported yarn and permitting and causing a ballooning of the yarn about all ofthe said supported yarn to tension the same while being fed.

14. A. method of twisting yarn, which consists in rapidly rotating a package of all the yarn to be rotated, leading the yarn from the 'I package down through the center thereof and through a 'twist holder positioned adjacent thelower end of a package of the yarn to be twisted, and rotating the yarn to be twisted and holder'in unison, causing and permitting the yarn to balloon upon leaving'the package to exert the required tension on the yarn while being. twisted, establishing another twist holder a fixed distance from the `first mentioned twist holder in which distance the twist in the yarn is laid, causing said second twist holder to also advance the yarn and at a constant speed relative to that of the rotation of the first twist holder, and packaging the twisted yarn.

`15. In a twisting machine, a rotatable twister head comprisinga tubular spindle,

'means' at one vendpof thehead carried by the spindle for and serving as the sole support for the yarn to be twisted, a twist holder in the opposite end of the head androtatable therewith, a fixed frame, twist holding and feeding means operatively mounted on said l frame and spaced a fixed distance from the twist holder in the hea'dto hold the twist and feed the yarn as led through the tubular spindle, the packageand twist holder, and means for driving the twister head vat a constant speed relative to that of the feeding means.)

16. In a twisting machine, a fixed frame, a l.

package'spindle at one end serving as the sole rotatablev twister head comprising a yarn supporting means for the-yarn to be twisted anda twist holder in the opposite end `of said head, means for rotating said head and -all of the yarnl to be'twi'sted mounted thereon lao" about`a common axis, twist holding .feed rollholder to hold the twist and feed the yarn as led through the package and the twist holder,

- means for driving said twist holding feed rollers, and means for driving the twister head at a speed in timed relation to that of the said rolls.

17. In a twisting machine, a rotatable twister head, a fixed bearing for supporting said head intermediate its ends, a spindle having a yarn package supporting portion at one side of the bearing and twist holding means at the other side of said bearing, said head having a hollow axis between said yarn package supporting portion and said twist holding means, a pair of feeding andtwist holding rolls spaced from said rotatable twist holding means, and packaging means spaced from said feed rollers, said yarn being led from the package through the hollow axis of said head and through said twister holding means to the feeding and the packaging means.

18. In a twisting machine, a fixed frame, a rotatable twist head operatively supported in said frame, said head carrying an upright package supporting spindle unsupported at its upper end and a twist holder at the lower end of said head all rotated on a common axis, twist holding feeding rolls operatively mounted in said frame, one of said rolls having a yarn guiding face in substantial lalignment wth the spindle axis, and means for driving said twister head and said feeding rolls at diiferentrelative speeds to twist and feed the yarn. v

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

` WILLIAM W. COLLINS. 

